AES Coursework Essay

Title: Cw3 ( AES coursework essay )

Discuss the strength and the weakness of electric cars in helping to limit enhanced the greenhouse effect.

An electric car is the one powered by an electric motor rather than traditional vehicles such as petrol or Diesel engine. Today, the use of electric car has become very common and the market of the electric car is growing rapidly. The electric cars have a rechargeable battery that can be charged by electricity or power stations. Electric cars have taken the place of many fuel cars. We all know that there are a lot of benefits of electric cars such as cheap to run, cheap to maintain, better for the environment, safety improvements and etc. But, we cannot neglect the drawback of electric vehicles such as charging station, travelling rang, lack of power and expensive price. Those vehicles which contain electric motor and internal combustion engine is known as hybrid electric vehicles and the fuel cell vehicle is known as a simple or normal vehicle.

There are the following strengths and weaknesses of electric cars.

According to the Seth Fletcher article (fetcher, Seth. (2011) Bottled lightning:- super batteries, electric car and the new lithium economy, hill and wang: New York ) lithium batteries may hold the key to be environmentally sustainable. He has cleared and explained for the use of lithium in electric vehicle batteries. These batteries are usually rechargeable and it is the most common battery type in electric cars. Fletcher explained that lithium helps to reduce or decrease the greenhouse effect because lithium is half as heavy or thick as water which helps to reduce the negativity of the greenhouse effect.

An electric vehicle is the main source to save the environment because electric cars emit less carbon dioxide rather than petrol and Diesel engine cars. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitro- oxide, hydrofluorocarbon and etc) cause the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the one thing which makes the earth a comfortable place to live. When these gases (carbon dioxide, methane and etc) in the earth atmosphere trap to the sun’s heat. This process makes Earth much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. Through the greenhouse effect, the temperature will become higher and the causes are hot weather, flooding, melts the ice or snow and raise sea-level. In 2007 a man named J Van Morelo wrote the article (fuel cell or battery: electric cars are the future, 2(7) 165-173) which shows that electric cars help to limit the enhancement of the greenhouse effect. In 1998 the transport sector was 28 per cent responsible for the emission of carbon dioxide. But, the latest data shows that the 50 per cent C02 emits from transport (petroleum, diesel and gas vehicles). These transports emit a large quantity of carbon dioxide. Only electric cars can help to limit the enhancement of the greenhouse effect because electric vehicles releases exactly zero carbon which makes the environment friendly.

Electric motor vehicle does not produce a lot of noise. It produces little noise pollution as compared to normal cars. In electric cars, we can talk without raising the voice. So, it’s not responsible for noise pollution and it’s also good for the environment. On the other hand, petrol or Diesel engine vehicles are a major source of noise pollution. Noise pollution has become a threat and a source of social tension. According to the European Union publication, 40% (per cent) of the population in EU countries is exposed to road traffic noise at the level exceeding 55db(A). Noise can cause short and long term health problems such as sleeping disturbance, feeling tired, poor hearing skill and poorer work etc. Noise can cause irreversible hearing damage. According to WHO (world health Organisation), noise is badly effecting humans. It is a major cause, not only of hearing loss, but also of heart diseases, sleeping disturbances and learning problems in children and teenagers.

The main drawback of the electric car has short-range and recharge point. Electric vehicles are limited range and speed. These vehicles have a range about 60 miles to 100 miles. After this, these vehicles need to be charged again. You cannot cover a long distance by using them because power stations are not available place to place. They are limited in numbers. If any power station is available near you. Electric car will take about 5-6 hours to get fully charged. In this way vehicles waste a lot of time to recharge again. This can be problematic if you want to cover a long distance. For example, if you are going on a long-distance and the battery of the car is near to end. What will you do because the power stations are least or limited in number? If you reach at any station it will also take time to recharge again.

There is no doubt at the fact that the electric car produces little noise which is not harmful to drivers and pedestrians. According to the Edwin Verheijen and Jan jabben (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu RIVM, in 2010) electric cars engines are not only clean but also produces less noise. In particular, this applies for speeds up to 20 kilometres per hour. A fully electrified fleet will be 3 to 4 dB more silent compared to the present fleet. They also compared electric cars with hybrid cars which use both the combustion engine and electric engine, the electric vehicle is 1 to 2 decibels quieter than the hybrid cars. The silence of electric cars may affect traffic safety and increase the accident ratio. In 2011, David L Fender (professional safety: Electric vehicle noise: Are they too Quite? 56(01), 34-38) explained EVs produce less noise. However, this lack of noise could be dangerous for pedestrians and front cars if they cannot hear the voice of vehicles.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that electric cars emit less carbon dioxide than petrol and Diesel engine cars and prove to be beneficial for Greenhouse effect as it produces significantly no emission of gases. It also helps to reduce the noise pollution because Electric Vehicle has zero exhaust emissions and does not produce a jarring effect barring the hearing of people. There is no doubt that electric cars are very expensive and have a very short range and less number of power stations. They are expensive because they contain lithium batteries which are a rare metal that can only be mined in handful of countries. They are Costly than fuel vehicles but a better source of efficiency and environment safety. At the end, I firmly believe that environment friendly electric cars and technology should be a national action plan and a proper management and policy for such a technology should be designed as it requires investment for it charging source that supposed to be provided by the government and the engineers should also redefine this technology with a backup for its power and efficiency. As road safety and other above illustrated points should be considered for its production and better safe environment. This would not only redefine the trend of vehicles but also in turn would benefit the greenhouse effect and environment. Better will be the greenhouse effect, better and pollution free will be the environment.

Reference:

1. Fetcher, Seth. (2011) Bottled lightning:- super batteries, electric car and the new lithium economy, hill and wang: New York.: Available a t https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/05/17/book-review-seth-fletchers-bottled-lightning/
2. J Van Morelo, G Maggetto (2007) fuel cell or battery: electric cars are the future 7(2) 165-173 : Available at https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.200600052
3. Edwin Verheijen and jan jabben (2010): Rijksinstituut voor volksgezondhe en Milieu RIVM:, effect of electric cars on traffic noise and safety: Available https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Effect-of-electric-cars-on-traffic-noise-and-safety-Verheijen-Jabben/1b852b3696a06f84e93312c79fc6f1b4804a6e1b
4. David L Fender (2011) professional safety: Electric vehicle noise: Are they too Quite? 56(01), 34-38: Available at https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/ASSE-11-01-34
5. According to the European Union: Available at. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/noise/data-and-statistics
6. Helmers, E and Marx P,(2012) electric cars: technical characteristics and environmental impact: environmental sciences Europe, 24(1), pp.4-10; Available at https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/2190-4715-24-14